Korean Job Discussion Forums

[goingtothecountry]

Saving money is all good and fine but what do you plan on doing, staying in your apartment watching tv all day and night? If you're the outdoorsy type and like going hiking and mountain climbing and all that I don't think that budget will even cover one meal. And if you drink, start getting used to soju.

[thegadfly]

I'd say budget 10,000 won a day rather than 6,000, but shoot for 6. Any day you are under 10, toss that in your weekend kitty. 10 or less is doable most normal days, but 6 is a stretch.

At 10, you hit your mark most days, and feel good about "saving" toward your weekend. At 6, you will probably go over by at least a few hundred won on a fairly frequent basis, and will feel bad for "missing your mark," or else, you will forego the little things that might make a day brighter (a cup of instant, 200 won coffee from the machine, a bus ride instead of walking across town, a taxi ride instead of a bus, one more roll of kimbop, a bottle of soju, whatever) just to hit the mark....

Northway is right about the higher costs of some of your basic items, but there are also things that are discounted. If you shop at E-mart in the last hour or so before they close, a lot of things get discounted. For example, the marinated meats (bulgogi (beef), nam yong taeji kalbi(pork)) are about 12k per package, and I get 5 or 6 meals from one package (with rice, of course). An hour before close, I have gotten the packages at 2 for 1 -- so 12k for meat for 12 meals. Portion into baggies and freeze, and you have some meat to go with your rice, at 1k a meal....

The open-air markets or local versions of them can also have cheap produce at times -- shop around. Even a few "service" servings tossed in will make it easier to live on a budget.

[ttompatz]

[samd]

[wiganer]

[mm]

Why are you so concerned with saving money?

I use to be 'friends' with the cheapest guy possible. He was a dirty hippiesh guy from California. He didn't buy new clothes or books. Even in the middle of winter he refused to buy a winter coat. Only spent his money on enough food to survive and maybe a night out once a month. He lived next to his school so he didn't have to pay for buses and rarely left his house. He managed to save 17 million won in one year and even went on a ten day vacation to Thailand, where he had to miss school and pay for a replacement. He was making 2.4 a month plus free housing.

But who wants to live that kind of lifestyle.

You can easily save a million won a month on a 2.5 million salary.

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

[wiganer]

[northway]

[Space Cowboy]

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

[conrad2]

In regards to cheap Americans in Korea, my experience has been the exact opposite. Its always the Brits, Canucks, and especially the Kiwis who are the most embarrassingly cheap. Im talking about shirking your financial repsonsibilities when out driking with the group, not paying your share or sometimes at all. Or breaking the bill down to the minutae. I have seen some shameful displays. I think it would be hard to call Americans as a whole cheap considering the average amount of consumer debt they hold.

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

[sojusucks]

[northway]